njanvilman

In NJ, you are allowed to keep any road kill deer that you kill. Not that many people do. Almost everyone I know has hit or came real close to hitting a deer in the last few years. My wife and I have both taken out deer. I had one big doe run into the side of my car last fall. More deer are killed by cars than hunters here. They have become a real pest, commonly refered to as long legged rats.

I have 7 of that type of vise in my museum. All have jaws around 3" to 4" and are very lightweight. When Peter Ross visited here, he spent most of his time studying these vises.

I think it is an old fire extinguisher that used Carbon Tetrachloride or something similar. I am not a chemist so I do not know if it is harmful or not. Worked by displacing all of the oxygen out of a fire.

PM sent.

Good doorstop or anchor.

OK, I've searched the web trying to figure out when this anvil was manufactured and it seems y'all are the folks who might have the answer. I bought this anvil in '86 at the moving sale of the fellow from whom we had purchased a 1838 plantation house property. He was the first to own the property outside of the original builder's family. SO, this anvil may, or may not have been left behind when the citified nephew sold the place to him. I didn't ask. I do know there were many other original artifacts that stayed with the property. This appears to be a 100 lb. Fisher Norris anvil in very good condition, I thought it might have been fairly new when I bought it. Edges original, very light to no hammer marks or scars on the face or horn, except one small weld spot, still slightly raised. Some light rust pitting on the face. Eagle cast poorly in the right side and also "100" as shown. No other markings, date, branding. I had always wanted an anvil to go along with all the other heavy as hell stuff I seem to want to move every five years or so. I am more into fine woodworking, motorcycle building and hot rodding. I use an anvil maybe once every month or so to straighten out some mangled piece of metal. So, the question is.. Could this be a very early example? Value? If it were worth a stupid amount of money I would consider selling it and use my other more beat up 155 lb. Fisher. Thanks

I have always enjoyed working on a Fisher, if only for the lack of ring. That said, I usually still wear ear muffs most of the time in the forge to help preserved the hearing I have left. I have never like the sharp ring of forged anvils.

You can fly from Newark to Rapid City and return for $450 (tops)!

I am trying to make up my mind if I want to tackle the 1700 mile each way trip from NJ to Rapid City. Flying from here to small airports is very expensive. I can drive it in my 09 Corolla, round trip on under 100 gallons of fuel plus tolls. I figure $500 for the expenses. I was wondering if one or two people near NJ or on the Rt 80 or RT 70 corridor are interested in sharing driving and costs. Plus one motel night each way. Yes, I plan on 800+ miles/day. Only legal licensed drivers please, with clean driving records.

I am still not sure if I will commit to the trip, just looking to see if anyone is interested.

Either post here or PM me.

Fe-Wood, I agree with everyone else...looks like a Fisher. If it's old enough it could be a "Southern Fisher". According to "Anvils in America", after the Civil War the southerners didn't want to buy Fisher anvils because of the union eagle on the side. Fisher removed the eagle from the anvils they sold down south. Postman says they may have done this as late as the the begining of the 20th century. I would love to have an "eagle-less" Fisher!

Hi folks. Thought I might add to this thread for my first post here. I was told that this one had been hit hard early on a cold morning an the horn just dropped off. The price was right however ($0), and at least it had hardy and pritchel holes, unlike my other similarly priced lumps of steel.

Not exactly blacksmith related, but I always use a tip jar(an old one gallon Mayonaise jar with a slot) at my Christmas tree operation. I give away candy canes and penny chocolate. I always seed the jar with a $5, several $1's and a few quarters. It works.The general public needs to be taught what to do.

I know josh, who has about that many anvils, lol

I would leave the small anvil alone and just keep it as a family heirloom. I have taken small pieces of railroad rail and sanded and polished them to use as small stakes. With a bit of work, I have gotten them to a mirror finish. Just a lot of sanding to fine grits, then buffing though the compounds.

So very sad to hear this news. I always enjoyed reading his posts and he never failed to impress me with his depth of knowledge.

The only exception is probably the FISHER double screw vises. They are cast, with steel jaws. The screws are steel. The thread box is machined into the cast iron. Their mounting plate is part of the casting.

I do have a few traditional vises with cast iron mounting plates, usually with the manufacturers name cast in. That is the only part that is cast. The rest is forged.

Always build as big as you can afford. The builder who put up my pole barn told me that his biggest complaint from clients is that they did not build big enough or tall enough. Clear span gives you flexibility as to your setup. One post effectively gives you 4 quadrants, two posts give you 6 sections. Not having to work around posts is easier. Have high sides can give you provision for side lean-to's for metal storage later. Just build an extra header into the outside walls for hanging rafters onto.

Also, give yourself at least one big overhead or sliding door. 10'x10' minimum. Should be big enough to get a loader or big forklift through. Even bigger would be better.

Layout your proposed building size on the ground with rope, and figure out a possible solution of equipment placement. Then see if you have enough room for everything, and room to work around it.

If I was offered that hammer, and it was within a decent hauling range, I would be all over it. Of course, one would now have a big bill for hauling, concrete, timbers, plumbing, and an air or steam source. I love the heavy stuff.

You stopped asking why he needs another anvil, at least 10 anvils ago.

BLACKSMITHING/ METALS/ TOOLS/ TECHNIQUES/ IRON PLEASE. This is not the forum for this arguement!

Staff notice: We do not agree, so you are over ruled :D

That is a super nice gift. And nicely done.

Nice iron!

Thanks for that info. When will I be in New Jersey?

Frank Turley

It would be an honor if you ever made it to this side of the country and could spent some time here. You are always welcome to visit and stay as long as you want. I know I met you (I think) at the two Flagstaff events. Anyone who visits here had better budget at least 4 hours or more. Yes, there is a lot of neat stuff here.

I also sell live Christmas trees that I grow on my farm from Thanksgiving on, during the weekends. Anyone can get a tree, and have a look around. I am just not available to give a guided tour.

I have seven of the early post vises you describe. All through tenons, pins and wedges. The biggest is perhaps a 4". A few years ago, Peter Ross stopped by my museum and after a quick look at the anvils, spent the next half hour studying the vises. If he had more time, I am sure that he could have spent all day.

None have any ID on them. And they all work fine. All were random finds around the northeast at auctions, flea markets and yes, blacksmith gatherings. None were expensive. I think the most I paid was around $50.

Just a few ideas

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